At times I like to set the records straight on some popular myths in the media: missing the 10 best days in the stock market, 401k loan double taxation, Roth 401k, credit score, and so on. In addition to recommending good books, I also report bad books: Elliott Wave, Magic Formula, Rule #1, Strapped.

Sometimes I feel frustrated because there is so much bad advice out there. I’m also afraid calling out personal finance gurus, journalists, and other bloggers may make me appear smug, aloof, or mean-spirited.

I’m so glad Frank Curmudgeon is out there fighting the battle. He takes the bad money advice head-on. He cross-referenced Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan with her earlier books. He back-tested Phil Town’s Rule #1. He’s not a fan of the Latte Factor^® (neither am I). He held no punches on other bloggers’ goofy posts (I did the same about engine failures).

Well done, Frank, and keep up the good fight! I see some of my readers already beat me to it (SJ, Dave C., Wm Tanksley, …). Check out Bad Money Advice if you haven’t.

Should I join the campaign to call out bad money advice or do you think it’s a bad form picking on others?

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Profiles in Selection Bias at The Incidental Economist – Be careful when you read media reports about statistics drawn from different population.

TIE says the media love selection bias and don’t know it. I say they don’t care whether there is selection bias because they love the attention-grabbing headlines. Think about the audience. Who has time to really think about it?

Understanding and Conquering "the Wanting Mind" at AllFinancialMatters – How do you fight with getting drawn into the latest and greatest? JLP says "STOP LOOKING for a replacement of what you currently have!"

I agree. I’m definitely a late adopter on almost everything. My computer runs on an AMD Duron processor from 2002 or 2003 with 768MB of RAM. It was a budget configuration back then. It’s still working just fine. If something is working, I’m not looking for replacing it.

Warning: Banks Automatically Renew CDs Upon Maturity, 7-Day Grace Periods at My Money Blog – Jonathan found out that many banks auto-renew CDs to very low rates when the CDs mature. If you missed the grace period, the early withdrawal penalty can eat into what you earned in the previous term. What a nice trap!

I’m not a fan of bank CDs. Banks run promotions before they drop down to below-market rates. The mere thought of opening and closing accounts everywhere and leaving my SSN behind gives me pause. If I want a CD, I will buy one in my brokerage account. Not the highest rate, but good enough with no hassle.

Low-Cost, Socially Responsible Mutual Funds at The Oblivious Investor – I don’t believe in socially responsible investing, for reasons I mentioned in a previous post Unsure About Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). Now I can’t help but wonder if charging excessive fees in socially responsible funds is socially responsible to the bleeding heart investors.

From the Archive

Here are two posts I wrote in October 2006. I think they are still relevant today. If you missed them back then, here’s a second chance.

9-Step Plan From Dilbert – How many steps have you checked off? I got eight. I can’t believe I still haven’t got that last one done.

Book Review: The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need – Lot of gems worth reminding ourselves:

• A Penny Saved Is Two Pennies Earned
• Trust No One
• In the financial marketplace, you get what you pay for, if you are careful. If you try to get more, you get burned.

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